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At risk of stating the obvious here, but the ultimate off-grid clothes dryer is a clothes line and a bag of clothespins. 0kWh. With 10 acres I think you have enough room!

Alas, New Mexico is a landlocked continental climate state located in the USA. You may be thinking of old Mexico.

Sorry this is long but if I don’t put in the details now, I’d just get asked to provide the details later! I am seeking guidance on what I might think about installing before year-end to take advantage of the 30% solar tax credit. My current situation: My house is 2800 sq ft, on the grid with...

I tried to get 2 battle born b-stock batteries from them last year and they were sold out so quickly I didn't get any. I anyone wants one I'd advise a 6 AM purchase! I did get black friday pricing last year at $850 each for the 12v 100AH batteries.

I'll know more soon, but in my initial conversation with a grid-tie installer in my area, it seems the utility currently only allows a home grid-tie solar system to produce 50% of power usage based on a 12-month lookback period. Had I known, I would have used more power in the last year!

I have that HF 100 watt system. Let me answer generally first for all interested readers, and then about your specific application. If you knew absolutely nothing about solar and wanted to learn what lowest end solar panels are and what a lowest-end PWM charge controller is, this might be the...

You might enjoy the PV Direct playlist on Engineer775's YouTube channel. He has all sorts of water conveyance and heating systems using PV panels and no batteries.

Thanks Svetz for your kind reply. Can I suggest that FAQ be a top-level forum category? The forum search engine does not allow a 3-character search term. That restriction bit me before, when I was trying to find a thread on the MPP solar inverters. Maybe that search restriction could also be...

This article covers how one guy did it. I think using MC4 connectors would have been the better choice for his electrical connections. Finding hinges with countersunk holes and using flathead machine screws might have avoided the clearance issue. But overall a very nice build...

from the battle born website: Are there any temperature restrictions on your LiFePO4 batteries? Yes, our batteries do have temperature restrictions. The batteries will no longer accept a charge once the temperature drops to 24 degrees F, but they will continue to...

I know nothing about code, but I think @offgriddle already gave the solution, which is to use a transfer switch. He showed a 10-circuit manual transfer switch. I have a 6-circuit transfer switch that works fine to swap from grid to an alternative power source while being safe and in-code. I...

I second this request. I mistakenly started a new thread with that same request, but I have no way to delete my thread. (Which leads me to request that any OP be able to delete a thread if no one has yet to post in it!) The search tool does not allow a three-character search. This made it hard...

It might be good to post a picture of your new roof line and tell us what it's made from, to determine if a solar panel really is or isn't feasible up there. The fixed solar panels seem to be much cheaper than the portable ones. If your fan isn't yet installed it might make more sense to install...

1" RMax is rated 6, 1.5" rated 9.6 if one could find it. I think any kind of rigid insulation would be a nightmare for a 71 year old post-stroke person to install in a van. But at least the five cats might not tear it out!

So now that you're through the math, maybe it's time to look at alternative way to keep the batteries warm. You could put them on a thermostatically controlled heat mat. Will did a video on that. Or if they're just AGM or FLA you can keep them reasonably charged and just let them be cold.

Curious how one would over panel in this instance. Lets assume they're starting with 2 100 watt panels in parallel. Later upgrade to 2 additional 100 watt panels so the array is then wired 2S2P. Adding one more 100 watt panel would get you to 25% over panelled, but how would you add 1 more panel...

Great, if ever I am in the UK now I know where I can charge my phone! That's an awesome leap from 1.5kW to 22kW. My utility only permits new systems up to 50% of prior year's use, sigh. Looking forward to the pictures to make me even more jealous.

Yes I came across legion solar in my search. Look at the post in this thread to understand why I didn't pursue it. https://diysolarforum.com/index.php?threads/legion-solar-4.680/ Also search for reviews on legion solar and plx devices. There's an old reddit thread which says this: "They are a...

The user manual explicitly states do not wire the panels in series.

Lithium batteries do not vent. Sealed lead acid requires no maintenance and doesn't vent under any normal circumstances. Plain old LA requires some periodic maintenance to make sure there's enough fluid in them. Here's a video on how one guy vented his batteries in his off grid cabin.

Thank you @Hedges and @HRTKD , you've given me a path forward for tomorrow. I feel optimistic that you've guided me toward finding the culprit and an easy fix. I'll check the voltages versus the app, check for resistance everywhere, replace something if I find something out of whack. I'll...

This is great, that article took me to a spreadsheet they published where I can input my array and it tells me if it's acceptable for the SCC I have, including the 30% over-panelling. Thanks!

When I disconnected them and charged them each on their own, they both started at 9.8v and ended at 13.37v, so I think they are both behaving the same. I have them back on the solar charger today with no loads, but the 3" of snow on the panels this morning means they're not generating any current.

Thanks Elmer, I have built 5000 sq ft of greenhouses, lots of steel bows and purlins, with pier footers, so I do feel comfortable building a solar array. My electrician has never done any solar but he can read a schematic! I have been intrigued by the Sol-Ark inverter and mentioned it to the...

@danphillips Yes I currently do use a honda 4000 watt generator. It can only power one building at a time. And I have to be around to start it up. I've dragged it 300 yards through mud and slush at 2am during a blizzard to keep a building from freezing. That lead me to consider other options!

My system is (or was, I dismantled it): 2 100w HQST solar panels in series 50' solar cables victron MPPT 100 | 30 SCC 2' 12 gauge solid conductor wires, positive fused with 40 amp automotive spade-type fuse 2 battleborn 12v 100 Ah batteries wired in parallel 6' 2 gauge 130 degrees C stranded...

If you're doing 12v lighting or using other 12v appliances, yes, you will need a DC - DC step down converter and a 12v fuse block. I don't think those solar panels are going to work for your 24v system, but I'll leave that for the myriad of experts on this forum.

Thanks @Picasso for your input. I didn't know about the Skybox product. I think with a delay start on one piece of equipment I might be able to run with a 5kW inverter instead of the 8kW Inverter in the Radian. Or do you know if they make a Skybox with 8kW inverter? I willl look at Iron Ridge...

Here's a resource I thought I'd pass along. Stopped in this week to make sure they were real and to pick up some solar wire for my new project. They had stacks and stacks of solar panels for 20 - 33 cents a watt. They have lots of other stuff too. Looks like it's a warehouse for a commercial...

The search tool does not allow a three-character search. This made it hard for me to find threads on the MPP solar boxes. You can't search MPP, and if you add the word solar as a search term, that pretty much returns every thread on the forum. I also wanted to find the FAQ, but couldn't search...